As far as old school fighting games from the 90’s and early 00’s are concerned there are so many titles that instantly comes to mind. Retro gamers often remember titles such as the Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Tekken, Killer Instinct and King of Fighters series from back in the day. Despite, how popular each of those franchises were there were games such as the Bloody Roar series which began back in back in 1997 on the Sony PlayStation which are considered to be highly underrated especially since they were overshadowed during the 90’s-early 00’s. In fact, the Bloody Roar series definitely had strong fan base especially since it was quite unique in relation to gameplay such as the “Beast Mode” mechanic and eventually “Beast Drive” in Blood Roar 2 which was released back in ’99. As far as the overall appeal of the series is concerned many would argue that Bloody Roar 2 was arguably the last strong entry despite there being three more games that came afterwards between 2000-2003. The latest entry in the set known as Bloody Roar 4 came out about sixteen years ago and since then there has been no indication of the possibility of a new game especially since Hudson Soft became defunct back in 2012.

While video game developer Eighting has worked on just about every Bloody Roar title within the series Konami was the publisher for Bloody Roar 4 which appeared on the PlayStation 2 between late 2003-early 2004. Even though, Konami is still a major publisher within the gaming industry today its unlikely that they have any plans on bringing back the Bloody Roar series. Bloody Roar 4 was nowhere near as popular as the first two games that came out between ’97-’99. In fact, some would argue with the notion that a new Bloody Roar game is not necessary but the idea of having HD releases if each title within the series would be something that would definitely turn heads within the gaming world. Despite, the fact that the fighting genre of gaming is not quite as popular today as it was during the 90’s a new project or release involving the Bloody Roar series could definitely be somewhat of an attraction anytime from 2020 onwards. But as it currently stands the idea of a new Bloody Roar game is one that seems unlikely to happen anytime in the near future.

When it comes down to the Nintendo Wii-U there is no secret that the console itself was considered to be a flop in comparison to rival consoles such as the PlayStation, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. A lot of people blame the Wii-U’s lack of success on the prices for the console itself along with its accessories but that is debatable. Despite, not being as successful as preceding consoles such as the Wii, GameCube, SNES or the NES one of the few games that was a huge attraction on the Wii-U during the early 10’s was New Super Mario Bros U which was initially released in November 2012. The cool thing about New Super Mario Bros U is the fact that it’s very similar to older installments of the series where players have to reach the flag at the end of each stage while traveling through various worlds. However, New Super Mario Bros U included 3D graphics opposed to 2D and allowed up to five players simultaneously which was one of the defining features of the game itself. Players were also given the option of using the Wii Remote or the Game Pad in terms of how they wanted to play New Super Mario Bros U which was another intriguing feature. The inclusion of a new villain named Nabbit who is known to be a power up thief was something that was also interesting especially since Nintendo usually recycled the same foes that have been popular in the series during the 80’s and 90’s and it was nice to see something new. Aside from the damsel in distress formula that we normally get in Mario games the co-op 2D multiplayer mode was something that really stood out in New Super Mario Bros U shout have been done a lot sooner than it was.

As far as sales are concerned New Super Mario Bros U managed to reach over 5.7 million copies worldwide. In fact New Super Mario Bros U ended up becoming third best selling game for the Wii-U behind Mario Kart 8 and Super Mario 3D World. New Super Mario Bros U was so popular that it was eventually ported and released for the Nintendo Switch in January 2019. There were various aspects about New Super Mario Bros U that fans and critics had praised from its level design and multiplayer gameplay all the way down to the storyline and has become one of the more memorable installments of the Mario series in relation to the 10’s decade.

As far as platform games from the early 90’s are concerned one the few titles that retro gamers instantly think about in relation that time period is Earthworm Jim which was developed by Shiny Entertainment initially released back in 1994. Earthworm Jim was released for 16-bit consoles such as the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in ’94 before it appeared on game systems such as Game Boy, Game Gear, Microsoft Windows and Sega-CD in 1995. Earthworm Jim had a rather basic but intriguing plot that was somewhat strange. The game starts of with a super-suit that falls from the sky which Jim gains access to. After acquiring the suit Jim has to deal with various adversaries who attempt to take it from him. Also, Jim is charged the the task of rescuing a Princess while trying to thwart off various foes throughout the game making for an exciting platform/run & gun adventure. While the original Earthworm Jim game was not quite as popular as other 16-bit platformers such as Super Mario World and the Sonic the Hedgehog trilogy from the early 90’s it managed to spawn a sequel that was arguably more successful following its release in 1995. Some would probably argue that the damsel in distress aspect of the story was not needed especially considering the fact that the super suit discovered by Earthworm Jim was interesting enough.

Also, despite how bizarre yet fascinating the plot was the ending was considered to be somewhat dark since Jim accidentally crushes Princess What’s Her Name after rescuing her. As a 2D platformer Earthworm Jim is seen as a cult classic while being praised by fans and critics for various quality such as gameplay, graphics along being an adventurous title that gamers of any age could easily sink their teeth into. Finding hard copy retro titles such as Earthworm Jim is rare when visiting used game stores which only proves how valuable it was approximately 25 years ago. If anything Earthworm Jim was arguably one of the best non-Sonic or Mario platformers of the 16-bit era and is one that which will remain a classic in the eyes of many people.

When we think about classic platform titles of the early 90’s that appeared during the 16-bit era of gaming one of the few names that instantly comes to mind is Donkey Kong Country. For those who do not know Donkey Kong Country was developed by Rare and published by Nintendo when it was initially released in November 1994. Donkey Kong Country was the first major game within the series to appear on a home based console during the 90’s. While Donkey Kong had first became very popular on the NES similar to characters such Mario & Link during the 80’s it seemed like the Country series stood out more. Donkey Kong Country had realistic characters sprites and a basic plot which involved a bunch of bananas being stolen by Kremlings. Players have to compete various stages while encountering numerous adversaries while controlling Donkey or Diddy Kong as they progress through 40 different levels within the game. One of the coolest features that Donkey Kong Country had was the multiplayer co-op mode which was similar to Sonic the Hedgehog 2 & 3 where one player got to be Sonic and other was Tails. The co-op two player mode in some ways made Donkey Kong Country better than older Mario games from the 80’s and Super Mario World to a degree as far as gameplay is concerned.

As far as overall success is concerned Donkey Kong Country managed to sell over 9.3 million units worldwide and ended up becoming the third best selling game for the Super NES during the 90’s. In fact, Donkey Kong Country ended up becoming the third best selling game for Nintendo’s 16-bit console while being surpassed by Super Mario World & Super Mario All-Stars. Donkey Kong Country was a title that spawned two SNES sequels which were both released between ’95-’96 and were largely successful as well. Despite, its release approximately 24 years ago Donkey Kong Country is a game worth playing for those who never had a chance to do so. As a 2D platformer Donkey Kong Country looked like it was ahead of its time following its release in 1994.

As far as retro RPG’s are concerned in relation to the Nintendo Entertainment System there have been several memorable titles from the 80’s and early 90’s. We got to see 8 bit RPG games such as Dragon Quest I-IV and Final Fantasy I-III between the ’86-’90 which were arguably more popular in Japan opposed to America. However, a game like Crystalis is never really mentioned in the same light as that if the Final Fantasy series despite the fact that its considered to be a cult classic by various gamers. In fact Crystalis is one of the most recognizable RPG titles that SNK has ever made and was released for the NES the same year the Neo Geo AES came out in Japan. Crystalis was considered to be a action-adventure/action role-playing game with a basic plot yet interesting involving an unnamed protagonist. The main character who awakes from a deep sleep makes some startling discoveries such as his presence being the key from saving humanity from destruction despite not remembering anything including his own identity. As far as the setting and the background for the game is concerned the idea of a fictional nuclear occurring in 1997 was one that was intriguing especially considering the fact that the game itself was released in 1990.

While the storyline, soundtrack and visuals for Crystalis were considered to be strong positives there are some people who would probably argue that the game could have been a masterpiece if it had better graphics. If Crystalis were released for the 16-bit Super Nintendo console which also came out in 1990 the game could have ended up becoming more popular than it was especially considering the fact that the NES was starting to get old during the early 90’s. Also, SNK is well known for their fighting games from the early 90’s such as Art Of Fighting, Fatal Fury and the King Of Fighters series. Crystalis was definitely a solid RPG title for its time and eventually ended up appearing on console such as Game Boy Color in ’00 and even the Nintendo Switch this past year in 2018 with different developers and publishers being involved in each respective port. While Nintendo Software Technology developed the Game Boy Color version Digital Eclipse worked on the Switch version with NIS America being the publisher. Seeing how popular if a RPG Crystalis was and still is today its surprising that the game never received a direct sequel on over 28 yearS since its release.

As far as memorable games from the 90’s are concerned in relation to violence and mayhem one of the few titles that the world got to see during that decade was Twisted Metal. For those who do not know Twisted Metal was published by Sony Interactive Entertainment and initially released back in November 1995 for the PS1. In countries such as America Twisted Metal was very popular among teens and young adults for its addictive gameplay involving vehicular combat where players have to struggle to stay alive in the streets of Los Angles. The plot for the game takes place in 2005 and centers around competition held by Calypso where participants go through various levels and try to destroy each other in order to stay alive. The concept of the Twisted Metal competition was very creative but some people have criticized the game on the past for having a weak single-player mode. Despite, some of the game’s drawbacks there were more positives than negatives in the first Twisted Metal game such as the arsenal of weapons players were provided. In the games players had the ability to carry over 20 different weapons giving players numerous options on how to destroy their enemies.

Also, the co-op story mode was interesting as well since players had to share six lives which really forced people to strategize as the difficulty of the game increased during progression. The idea of sharing lives during co-op gameplay can be seen as a negative in the eyes of some people since it was somewhat similar to the NES Battetoads game where two players had to share lives in a game that can be difficult. Various stages in game where the competition took place included skyscrapers, freeways, warehouses and even the suburbs which made Twisted Metal even more interesting. The graphics for Twisted Metal were pretty decent by mid 90’s standards especially since 3D gaming was still considered to be new during that time period. The original Twisted Metal game ended up spawning two successful sequels between ’96-’98 which both sold over one million copies worldwide on the PS1. As a vehicular combat game Twisted Metal was one of the most innovative titles the gaming world has seen and its a title that is still somewhat popular to this day. The latest entry that we got to see in the Twisted Metal series was back in 2012 and for the most part fans and critics were fond of that game. Hopefully, sometime in the future we will get a chance to see another Twisted Metal title for a current generation console such as the PlayStation 4 or even the upcoming PS5 game system.

As far as retro sports related games are concerned relation to the 90’s one of the few games from that time period that is com to be highly underrated Windjammers. For those who do not know Windjammers was initially created by a now defunct video game developer known as Data East and has had various publishers since its arcade release back in ’94. Windjammers had been ported for mainly SNK developed consoles such as Neo Geo AES and Neo Geo CD back in the 90’s. As many people know the Neo Geo AES was very expensive at the price $649.00 following its release in the early and did not sell as much which may be one of the reasons why many people never heard of Windjammers at all. Windjammers was a 2D game that resembled ultimate frisbee where players have to stop their opponents offensive throws from entering their goal zone. The game provides players layers with six playable characters to choose from all with their own unique set of stats with each having certain strengths and weaknesses.

Windjammers provides players with the option of competing against other players or against the CPU. The difficulty of the game increases after players defeat CPU controlled characters which made Windjammers more interesting. Windjammers was a Neo Geo classic that was considered to be both underrated and popular back in the day and has recently been ported to current generation consoles such as the PlayStation 4 and the Nintendo Switch. As it currently stands we are still waiting for the official release of DotEmu’s Windjammers 2 which is expected to occur sometime before 2020.